Chapter 2

The moment the ice water hit me, I could barely breathe.

The iron gate had been locked from the outside. All four sides of the canyon were enclosed by reinforced glass observation decks, and the cold white glow of night-vision lights lit everything up, leaving me no place to hide.

The decks were packed with young wolves from both packs.

They held warm drinks in their hands and watched like this was a carefully arranged hunting show.

Someone slammed their palm against the railing and let out a long, mocking howl.

Someone else raised their phone and pointed the lens straight at my soaked back.

"Frost Pack's got a new game? Pretty entertaining."

"Gotta hand it to Alpha Eliot — night before the bonding ceremony and he's got his fiancée standing in an ice storm."

"This is his test to see if she's worthy of being Frost Pack's Luna!"

The taunts cut through the sound of the rain and burrowed into my ears one by one.

My fingers locked around the iron bars of the gate.

The gate wouldn't open.

An electronic lock hung on the outside, its screen glowing with Frost Pack's white wolf crest.

Lola stood at the front of the observation deck. She wore a clean white dress, makeup flawless, like a white rose that had never been touched by dirt.

She stood under a white umbrella, smiling, and gave the remote in her hand a little wave in my direction.

"Seren, don't look at me like that."

"Everyone just wants to see how much you really love Alpha Eliot."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was just loud enough for the wolves nearby to hear.

Another wave of laughter rolled through the crowd.

I wiped the water from my face and heard my own voice shaking. "Lola, open the gate."

She tilted her head like I'd said something funny.

"But the hunt just started."

"We made a bet on how long you'd last before you begged."

She stepped closer and looked at me through the glass.

"Didn't you always say you were Ironclaw Pack's finest heir? Independent. Strong. Capable?"

"Then prove it."

I watched her innocent face, and something inside me turned cold, inch by inch.

Tonight was supposed to be the eve of my bonding ceremony with Eliot.

Frost Pack and Ironclaw Pack had been neighbors for generations, but border conflicts had been escalating. The Elder Councils had decided to seal the alliance through a bonding.

Eliot said this was the respect he owed me.

He said I had stayed by his side through Frost Pack's three hardest years.

That I had walked with him from the fringes of the pack all the way to the Alpha seat.

He said I deserved to carry the title of Luna.

For a while, I thought that was the best ending I could hope for.

For this alliance, I had turned down three border hunts and personally reviewed every territory agreement and every supply line arrangement.

But now, the man who promised me respect was standing at the center of that observation deck.

He hadn't come down. He hadn't told anyone to open the gate.

The overhang above the deck kept the rain off him.

Eliot stood in the warm light, watching with cold eyes as I soaked and shook in the canyon below.

I called up to him through the glass.

"Eliot!"

"Tell her to open the door!"

I thought he would at least frown.

But he just slowly brushed a hand across his sleeve.

"Seren, Lola just likes to have fun."

"You're older than her. More mature. Don't take it so seriously."

I stared at him, eyes burning red. "You know exactly why this terrifies me!"

When I was ten, I followed my father on a border hunt and got trapped with him when an enemy pack cornered us inside a collapsed cave.

A blizzard raged outside. Snowmelt rose past my knees. There was nothing around me but darkness and broken rock.

My father, trying to get me out, was crushed by a collapsing wall.

He pushed me toward the opening. He never made it out.

After that, I was afraid of enclosed spaces. Afraid of the constant sound of running water. Afraid of any night I couldn't escape from.

All these years, I never told anyone.

Only Eliot knew.

Because once, when the Frost Pack was cornered underground by enemy wolves, I stayed in that cave with him for an entire night to help him protect his pack's hunting maps.

He held my hand and said: "Seren, I'll protect you from now on. You never have to be afraid again."

Now he stood on the observation deck and let my fear become entertainment for every wolf in the canyon.